OROVILLE — When it comes to historic artifacts that tell stories about earlier times, places and people, one thing that enlivens history in a colorful way — and even has a tale of its own — is a quilt.

This month, Butte County Historical Society showcases lots of quilts at the Historical Society Museum on Spencer Avenue. The museum will be open extra hours all month so people can see the handiwork, art and history depicted in the quilts.

Seen at the museum Friday, quilts loaned from people in Gridley, Chico and other Butte County areas added warmth, color and design to the regular displays, such as a duplication of a room at Oroville’s historic Ehmann home.

Among the pieced, appliqued and embroidered quilts are covers that not only allowed for warmth in bygone eras, but also were a means of depicting some aspect of everyday life.

Some quilts are on loan from the historic Lott and Ehmann homes.

Lucy Sperlin, director of the museum and archives, described the histories of several quilts and their functions. One is a crazy quilt from the Ehmann home. While pointing out intricate details stitched into the piece, she also remarked that crazy quilts were often made more as decorative pieces draped over the backs of sofas or chairs than as blankets.

A quilt she especially likes is a simple piece of plain blocks made of dark, heavy fabric called the “Manzanar Crazy Quilt.” The piece was made by a family detained at the interment camp Manzanar during World War II, she said. It was made from men’s’ suits for warmth.

The “Manzanar Crazy Quilt” is Sperlin’s favorite.

“It has historical significance that touches me,” she said. “Though it isn’t visually spectacular, it has a meaning that is moving and historic.”

Another more colorful piece she described is called “Chips and Whetstones,” made in Franklin County, Pennsylvania in the 1800s.

Sperlin said “Chips and Whetstones” is her second favorite “because it showed in artistry something common in daily life at the time — keeping ax blades and farm equipment sharpened.

“I kind of like (both) because there’s more to them than meets the eye when you first look at them,” Sperlin continued. “When you learn about them, they take on a meaning that they didn’t have before.”

Other quilts include a red and white Log Cabin from the Lott home in Oroville that was reportedly quilted from 1894 to 1896 by members of the First Methodist Church. On a close look at the quilt, which is somewhat faded, signatures appear on the light-colored pieces.

The society dates the earliest quilt in the show at 1820. Other quilts on display were made in the 1870s, 1930s, 1950s, and other years. Though most are owned by either the Historical Society or individuals in Butte County, the quilts originated in many cases from ancestors as far away as Oklahoma, Texas and Illinois.

“I think people will just discover that the more they look, the more they’ll see.

Staff writer Barbara Arrigoni can be reached at barrigoni@orovillemr.com or 533-3136.

Museum extends hours for show

The Butte County Historical Society museum, 1749 Spencer Ave., will be open extra hours for the Quilt Show until the end of the month. The hours are 9:30 a.m. to noon Fridays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, 1-4 p.m. Sundays, and 5-7 p.m. Thursdays. After Quilt Month ends, the museum will only be open on Saturdays. Volunteers are needed for the extra hours. For information call 533-9418.